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transform schooling as we know it, to help all students realise their
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Friday, August 16, 2013

Educational Readings - ideas to think about

Common core in the USA is like national standards in New Zealand,
although possibly worse, given the reliance on standardised testing. This
infographic looks at the relationship between common core and college
preparedness.

‘With
teachers playing the system and students clamming up in observations, surely
schools can find a better way to assess teaching and progress?’

I agree - once the teacher and children
become aware they are being observed, the classroom is no longer functioning as
it usually would. The validity of any conclusions is suspect. The current
emphasis on accountability, performance pay, etc, just makes it worse.

‘I
know I have to be observed and I know that observations are important. But I
long for the day when I will be trusted to do my job and people can just wander
in when they want to instead of sitting there, po-faced and unsmiling, writing
everything down when I so much as breathe.’

The ultimate abomination is Bill Gates’
proposal of video cameras in all classrooms, recording every event of every
day.

This article is about the USA; however
there’s much of relevance to teachers all over.

‘We
have a rare chance now, with many teachers near retirement, to prove we’re
serious about education. The first step is to make the teaching profession more
attractive to college graduates. This will take some doing.’

‘I am reading a fascinating
book: ‘The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing To Our Brains’ by Nicholas
Carr. I strongly recommend it. I was particularly drawn to his analysis of the
differences between ‘deep reading’ and the kind of interconnected, hyperlink
driven reading that we engage with when we read on the internet.’

Some years back, I
tried, without success, to make similar points to a Massey University reading
‘expert’ but my observations were dismissed.

‘While the quality of other people's refrigerators doesn't
affect ME in a deep and meaningful way, the quality of their education most
certainly does. Ensuring that ALL children -- including "those
people living in the poor section of town" -- have access to Subzero
schools means ensuring that ALL children will grow up to be competent citizens
capable of making positive economic and social contributions to our
communities.’

The forgotten concept
of ‘public good’ needs to be reintroduced into our dialogue.

‘The
challenge to the teacher then is not to teach in a manner that seeks to meet
significant strengths or preferences that have been developed (thereby further
promoting them) but to provide the conditions whereby the learner is guided and
given permission to go exploring their learning needs and how to meet them.’